The United States Colored Troops were organized in 1863.
Crawford county Arkansas seems an unlikely place that a good number of men would
live who would have served in these Union regiments. However, there were many
black men who had been enslaved, who lived in the county before the War, and
there were others who would later settle in the county after the Civil War
ended, after they had won their freedom. There were 6 regiments of the U.S.
Colored Troops that were organized in the state of Arkansas, and when the black
men of the area in this small NW Arkansas community had an opportunity to fight
for their freedom, many of them seized the opportunity immediately. Some
left and fled to Kansas, joining the 83rd US Colored infantry, others merely
slipped across the river to Ft. Smith, enlisting in the 11th U.S. Colored
Infantry when it was organized, while others joined the illustrious 57th U.S.
Colored Infantry. Nevertheless, several dozen men have been documented to have
come from the community and who returned home after the war as veterans of the
Union Army.

The Van Buren Civil War Project

Several years ago, I began researching my family history
and its relation to the Walton, Drennen, and Talkington line of Van Buren,
Arkansas. Lydia Talkington, whose name graced the pages of an old family bible
was a mystery, until it was discovered that she was also a Civil War widow.
Her husband, John Talkington served with the 83rd U.S. Colored Infantry, and he
was wounded in the Jenkins Ferry battle, near Camden Arkansas. He soon died from
his wounds, and his widow Lydia, was entitled to a widow's pension. As a result,
a thick Civil War pension file was left behind. Over the years, in the town of
Van Buren, many citizens, from the white and black communities spoke on Lydia's
behalf, in support of her receiving her pension as she requested
increases. What emerged from her file were also the names of more soldiers
who had returned to the city of Van Buren after the war. As these retired
soldiers spoke on her behalf, a natural question arose---who were these other
black soldiers who lived in the same community? I decided to personally explore
their history and I was to learn a remarkable lesson in local history of the
community of Van Buren, Arkansas. Taking advantage of living close to
Washington, DC I began to obtain the pension files of some of the soldiers found
in Lydia's file. Each file, revealed the name of more soldiers. My research
colleague Tonia Holleman, joined this effort utilizing her sharp research
skills, combing through census records, marriage records, and early Van Buren
newspapers to learn even more about the lives of these men, whose names had long
been forgotten.

The Headstone Project

As the names of these Union soldiers came out, we both became
very interested in finding out where they were buried. Surprisingly, the black
Unions soldiers of Van Buren were not among the U.S. Colored troops buried in
Ft. Smith National Cemetery. Upon closer examination of the pension files, it
was noticed that many of these soldiers were actually buried in the city of Van
Buren, in the town cemetery--Fairview cemetery. Some died in the 1920s and death
certificates also confirmed that they were buried in the cemetery, and others
who died much earlier, had documents in their files confirming their place of
burial. Interestingly, though buried in the historic cemetery, these men had no
markers on their gravesites. However, as United States soldiers, these men were
eligible for official headstones, and therefore, with the assistance of Tonia
Holleman of Van Buren, the effort was made to obtain headstones for these men
buried at Fairview cemetery. Ms. Holleman spoke with members of the Fairview
cemetery board, and the board graciously donated some space for some of our
soldiers. We hoped for 5-6 spaces and the cemetery board gave us 16 spaces.
As a result of this generosity and spirit of congeniality and support of these
soldiers, from the cemetery board, we decided to begin our efforts to secure
memorial markers for 8 of these men whose records we had already obtained.
Our project was also supported by the Honorable John Boozeman, of the 3rd
District of Arkansas.

On Monday January 17th, 2005 the stones were laid in Fairview
Cemetery. At long last, 140 years after these men earned their freedom, their
names were finally standing, honoring these men in the cemetery where they rest.
Their names inscribed upon beautiful marble upright military markers reflect
their service to their nation. They had won their freedom and their names
now grace the town cemetery, in the vicinity of their loved ones, and their
community. These soldiers of silence, dignity and patriotism are honored
at last.